Published: October 13, 2008 01:28 am         

Dedication: Ceremony begins 10 a.m. Tuesday.

After two years in the making, a memorial will be unveiled to the public in a formal ceremony honoring the Company F soldiers who trained at the Medina Armory on Pearl Street from 1898 to 1947. The dedication will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday on the corner of Prospect Avenue and Pearl Street (on the grounds of the Lake Plains YMCA, formerly the Medina Armory).

Additional parking will be available at the Bates-Tuttle Funeral Home, 226 Pearl St.; St. Mary’s Church, 215 Eagle St.; and Calvary Tabernacle Church, 324 Catherine St. All parking is within one block of the monument. The ceremony should take one hour and will be held indoors, if bad weather occurs. Bring your own chairs.

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The monument, a pentagonal-shaped column made of Medina sandstone, is a tribute to more than 550 Company F war veterans who battled four major conflicts: The Spanish American War, Mexican Border Incursion, World War I and World War II. The names of each of those local soldiers are inscribed on plaques attached to four of the walls of the monument. The fifth wall memorializes Company C soldiers who trained at the Medina Armory during the Cold War era, some of whom served in the Korean and Vietnam wars.

The Oct. 14 dedication completes phase one of the $35,000 memorial project, which was funded by community donations, as well as grants from state Sen. George Maziarz, R-Newfane, and the Curtis Foundation. An additional funding of about $20,000 to $25,000 will be required to complete phase two, creating a granite or bronze statue of a soldier that will be placed on top of the monument. Tax deductible donations are being accepted for phase one and two and can be made payable to Company F Memorial Fund, in care of Medina Savings and Loan, 11182 Maple Ridge Road, Medina NY 14103. Pledge cards can be downloaded online at www.medinaarmory.com/pledgecard.pdf. For more information, visit www.medinaarmory.com.